Gamecocks Defeat Michigan State to Advance to Sixth Straight Super Regional

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 13 South Carolina men’s tennis team (18-8, 8-6 SEC) defeated No. 16 Michigan State 4-1 to advance to Super Regionals on Saturday evening at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center. The Gamecocks earned the doubles point and three straight-set victories in singles to beat the Spartans.

Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer got things started with a 6-4 win from the second position, fighting off multiple comeback attempts. As Daryabeigi and Stenzer wrapped up their match, Gabe Avram and Charlie Swaine found themselves trailing 4-1. Momentum briefly swung toward the Gamecocks as Lucas da Silva and Paul Barbier Gazeu grabbed a 5-4 lead, while Avram and Swaine battled back from a three-point deficit to close the gap to 5-4. 

Michigan State pushed to the brink on court six, taking a 40-0 lead, but Avram and Swaine fought off multiple points to make it 30-40. The Spartans ultimately secured a 6-4 win, leaving the doubles point to be decided at the top of the lineup. There, the Spartans evened things at 5-5, but da Silva and Barbier Gazeu responded with a late surge, reclaiming the lead at 6-5 and closing out a 7-5 victory to clinch the first point of the match.

With four first-set wins, the Gamecocks kept the energy up moving into singles play as Gazeu (7-5), Stenzer (6-3), Karahan (6-3) and Avram (6-3) led the way for South Carolina. Stenzer was the first to break through, making quick work of his second set. He took it 6-1 and doubled the Gamecocks’ lead to 2-0. The next point came from court two, where Gazeu won his second set 6-2 over No. 15 Matthew Forbes to put the Gamecocks one point away from winning the match. The win marked his highest ranked victory in his collegiate career.

Michigan State got on the board with a 6-3, 7-5 win from Ozan Baris over Daryabeigi. The deciding point would come down to Karahan or Avram, who were each playing in second set tiebreakers. Karahan built a 4-2 lead, but it was Avram who finished first, taking the tiebreak 7-4 and closing out the match. 

With the victory the Gamecocks have advanced to their sixth consecutive super regional match. The team is slated to face Virginia next week on May 8 or 9. 

For the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).

No. 13 South Carolina 4, No, 16 Michigan State 1

DOUBLES (order of finish: 2,3,1)

1. No. 6 Lucas da Silva/Paul Barbier Gazeu (USC) def. No. 38 Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) 7-5
2. No. 65 Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (USC) def. Taym Alazmeh/Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 6-4
3. Danial Rakhmatullayev/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Charlie Swaine/Gabe Avram (USC) 6-4

SINGLES (order of finish: 4,2,3,6)

1. No. 29 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) led No. 14 Lucas da Silva (USC) 7-6 (7-3), 2-5
2. No. 85 Paul Barbier Gazeu (USC) def. No. 15 Matthew Forbes (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
3. No. 43 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. No. 73 Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 3-6, 7-5
4. Max Stenzer (SC) def. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Atakan Karahan (SC) led Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-3, 6-6 (4-2)
6. Gabe Avram (SC) def. Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)